LEXINGTON, Ky. – You can always tell when it’s a Breeders’ Cup year at Keeneland with just a quick look around. Most of the temporary facilities that will accommodate the larger crowds for the Nov. 4-5 championships are already in place, a visual novelty of sorts for those attending the fall meet. Indeed, it’s a meet that will get under way Friday with the customary front-loading of important races. In all, 11 stakes will be run over the three-day FallStars Weekend (Friday through Sunday), most of them Win and You’re In events toward the Breeders’ Cup, which Keeneland will host for the third time following the 2015 and 2020 runnings. The 17-day meet begins with the Grade 1 Alcibiades as the traditional opening-day feature, accompanied by the Grade 2 Phoenix and Grade 2 Jessamine. Saturday brings five more graded races, including the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile, followed Sunday by three more, led by the Grade 1 Spinster. Purses once again are projected to be paid out at track-record levels, a welcome trend on this circuit given the continual funneling of historical horse racing revenues into both association purses and Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund supplements. Maiden-specials will max out at $100,000 (including KTDF), while allowances range from $110,000 to $140,000. The schedule of 22 stakes is projected to be worth nearly $9 million. “We’re extremely excited by the purse structure we’re able to offer,” said Gatewood Bell, the track’s vice president of racing. “We’re looking forward to some outstanding competition in October.” :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown both have taken out 40-stall allotments, with most of their horses scheduled to be bedded down here by Monday night. They’re among the world-class trainers who will be spending a considerable amount of the next five weeks in Kentucky, along with regulars such as Brad Cox, Wesley Ward, Steve Asmussen, Mike Maker, Bill Mott, and so many more. Luis Saez, who dominated the 2021 Keeneland spring meet with 29 wins, will compete here the entire meet before also riding throughout the Churchill fall meet. Joel Rosario will be here “most days,” according to agent Ron Anderson, while Irad Ortiz Jr. will be here a total of five days, including the first two. They’ll be part of a colony that includes most of the top jockeys on the continent. Dry weather has been the rule in this region in recent weeks, and the weekend forecast calls for more of the same, with high temperatures reaching the low 60s. The turf course appears lush and in prime shape. First post daily is 1 p.m. Eastern. The meet runs through Oct. 29, after which Churchill Downs will sandwich its first four fall-meet race dates (Oct. 30 and Nov. 2, 3, 7) around the Breeders’ Cup. Mondays and Tuesdays are dark. All ticketing for ontrack admission is now handled online at tickets.keeneland.com, with weekend cards tending to sell out (no cash walk-up). General admission is $7 in advance. Five of the FallStars stakes will be broadcast live Saturday and Sunday on CNBC, with both shows starting at 5 p.m. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Gaffalione, Cox win again Tyler Gaffalione was the leading jockey for the eighth time in the last nine Churchill Downs meets when riding 13 winners at the 14-day September meet that ended Sunday. Brad Cox was the leading trainer for the fifth time with 11 wins, while his clients, Gary and Mary West, with seven wins, were the leading owners for the fourth time. Field size at the dirt-only meet averaged 8.28 horses per race, up marginally over the corresponding 2021 meet when there also was no turf racing. Favorites won at a 33 percent clip (44 for 134). The closing-day Derby City 6, subjected to a forceout, returned $233,754 for the lone winning 20-cent ticket. No announcement has been made as to whether the turf course will be available during the fall meet, which runs Oct. 30 to Nov. 27. ◗ Bell’s the One, the $2 million earner with 13 wins from 27 starts, is skipping the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes on Saturday to train straight into her final career race, the BC Filly and Mare Sprint, trainer Neil Pessin said Monday. The 6-year-old mare won the TCA as an 11-10 favorite last year. ◗ Letruska, the 2021 older female dirt champion, breezed five furlongs in 59.80 seconds Sunday at Churchill with Ferrin Peterson up. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, the 6-year-old mare will prep for the BC Distaff on Nov. 5 by running in the Spinster. ◗ John McKee, the leading jockey at the Belterra Park meet that ends Oct. 11, is sidelined indefinitely after suffering a severe contusion just below his knee when kicked in the paddock prior to the third race Saturday at Churchill by his would-be mount. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.